From more than 400 miles away, San Jose State senior linebacker Keith Smith knew something was wrong. He scanned the San Diego State stat sheet week after week and saw mediocre numbers by his best friend, Aztecs running back Adam Muema.

With the early season bustle and school starting up again, Smith and Muema, teammates at Charter Oak (Covina) High School, hadn’t talked in a few weeks.

But that didn’t keep Smith from worrying.

“I was kinda getting mad,” Smith said. “I saw the first couple of games, the numbers, and saw the freshman get more carries and was wondering what was going on.”

A bum ankle derailed Adam for a couple of weeks. However, he’s back at full speed and just in time for a family reunion when the Aztecs (4-4 overall, 3-1 Mountain West) face Smith and the Spartans (5-3, 4-1) on Saturday at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

“He’s like my brother,” said Smith, the more gregarious of the two. “I always enjoy going against him.”

Second Family

Adam was 2 when his mother was deemed an unfit parent and he was sent to live with his aunt, Trina Powell. He grew up in an apartment with Powell’s four other children, sharing a bunk bed with his cousin, A.J.

None of it was easy, though. Trina worked long hours as a therapist at a local hospital, and according to Charter Oak football coach Lou Farrar, Adam and A.J. were frequently left to care for their younger siblings.

But the Smith household became a welcome retreat for Adam,

It’s where he would hang out with Keith after football practice, doing homework and playing video games. On weekends, Adam often spent the night, waking up to breakfast courtesy of Keith’s mother, Juli.

Adam calls Trina and Juli both “Mom.” And both women have played significant roles in his life.

“I would do anything for him. Adam is like my second son,” said Juli, who makes time for dinner with Adam whenever she’s in San Diego for business.

With her help, Adam and Keith went on a trip to New Orleans to visit Keith’s family, and Juli took the two boys and Adam’s cousin to the BCS national championship game between Alabama and Texas at the Rose Bowl in 2010.

Keith was with Adam in May 2010, when the running back was hit in the face with a baseball bat as he tried to defend the parent of a friend at a high school graduation party.

The blow left Adam with an orbital fracture and a macular hole in the retina of his left eye.

“I saw him getting taken to the hospital and stuff,” Keith said. “It was pretty scary. It was right before we were going off to college, and I was kind of devastated. I didn’t know what was going to happen to him.”

Keith Smith (left) and Adam Muema hamming it up during their high school days in Covina. Smith went on to play linebacker at San Jose State, while Muema is the Aztecs' starting running back.
— Courtesy: Juli Smith

Keith Smith (left) and Adam Muema hamming it up during their high school days in Covina. Smith went on to play linebacker at San Jose State, while Muema is the Aztecs' starting running back.
/ Courtesy: Juli Smith

Adam underwent eye surgery that came with some grueling recovery stipulations: He had to lie facedown, 23 hours a day for two weeks, to allow his eye to heal.